Worm thing embedded in open brain skeleton

[gingeramoeba]

I’ve been trying to figure out why this coral is dying and the rest of my tank is fine. I’m thinking it has to be a pest or something. I just noticed this fuzzy worm playing peek-a-boo. It has a fuzzy looking body with a more compact “head”. These are the best pictures I could get. I figured since the coral was probably going to die anyway, I might as well investigate. The “worm” was coming out of a tract, similar to a tube worm but not quite. I broke open the tract and removed whatever was in it in pieces. It came out in reddish clumps. I’m so curious if anyone knows what this is. It’s not a barnacle or feather/tube worm. It’s probably not causing my trachy to die though. That part remains a mystery.

Before Surgery

After surgery

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I can't see the head clearly enough to give a solid ID, but the worm is a type of feather duster/tube/fan worm, most likely a Sabellariid (taxonomic family Sabellariidae - which has some of the coolest worms in the ocean IMO). It's a harmless filter feeder, so I also doubt it was causing issues for your coral.

 

[gingeramoeba]

I can't see the head clearly enough to give a solid ID, but the worm is a type of feather duster/tube/fan worm, most likely a Sabellariid (taxonomic family Sabellariidae - which has some of the coolest worms in the ocean IMO). It's a harmless filter feeder, so I also doubt it was causing issues for your coral.

Just looked that up and it doesn’t really look like it. But when I was looking at images, this popped up and I think this is what is was. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. I know the coral is a lost cause but I was really curious what that thing was.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Just looked that up and it doesn’t really look like it. But when I was looking at images, this popped up and I think this is what is was. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. I know the coral is a lost cause but I was really curious what that thing was.

The one in the picture you shared here is a Sabellariid worm - Phragmatopoma californica; there are a lot of different species in a number of different genuses within the family. I don't know what species yours was (it could be a Phragmatopoma species, though not P. californica, which is a coldwater species from the US West Coast), but if it looked like the worm in the pic quoted above, it's from the same family.

 

[gingeramoeba]

The one in the picture you shared here is a Sabellariid worm - Phragmatopoma californica; there are a lot of different species in a number of different genuses within the family. I don't know what species yours was (it could be a Phragmatopoma species, though not P. californica, which is a coldwater species from the US West Coast), but if it looked like the worm in the pic quoted above, it's from the same family.

Duh, I should have looked to see what temperate it lived in. But yes, It looked very similar to that worm. Thanks for solving my mystery.

 

[gingeramoeba]

Hey @ISpeakForTheSeas I have a question that you may or may not be able to answer since you seem to know a lot about aquatic entomology. Do you have any clue what these blackish things with a filament are? It almost looks like a ball or lint with a strand coming out. They are not motile. I pulled two off the surface of my trachy and put in a container with RO water. When I put the second one, it’s almost like they intertwined. I have no clue if this is a living organism or what but I have a gut feeling they may be the cause of my coral’s death. I noticed them under the flesh of the trachy around the time is started declining. The first two pictures is of the unknown object in RO water. The third picture is (what I think) them under the trachy flesh. I know this is a long shot and I’m past the point of trying to save this coral but I really want to know why it died so I can prevent it from occurring on my other corals. TIA.

Single mystery object

*Excuse dirty countertops. Filaments intertwined but do not appear to be motile

Black spot under flesh

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

If you put the blackish things in RODI, that might have killed them... Are there more, and could you put one in a container of tank water?

 

[gingeramoeba]

If you put the blackish things in RODI, that might have killed them... Are there more, and could you put one in a container of tank water?

I can try when I get home. When I was taking them off the coral they weren’t moving at all. I wonder if it’s just balled up zoo

 

[gingeramoeba]

Just sucked another one off and it still doesn’t look motile.

it’s in a feeding syringe with tank water

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I'm not sure what the black things are - maybe algae starting to grow on the coral's skeleton?